Survey says Boston’s hotel occupancies are forecast to increase next year despite a drop in large conventions.
Thomas Grillo
Real Estate Editor- Boston Business Journal
Boston’s hotel occupancies are forecast to increase next year despite fewer large conventions, a new survey said.
The latest edition of PKF’s Hotel Horizons forecast report said Greater Boston’s area occupancy rate is projected to increase by 0.7 percent in 2013. At the same time, citywide convention activity will drop from 2012 levels, the survey said.
Since 2011, convention group demand has accounted for 4 percentage points of annual occupancy for Greater Boston hotels, or 5.6 percent of total Greater Boston demand, researchers found. For the Downtown/Airport submarket, convention group demand accounts for approximately 5.8 percentage points of annual occupancy, or 9.5 percent of total demand.
The study confirmed the conclusion that Boston’s balanced base of lodging demand softens the impact of changes in citywide convention activity on hotel occupancy, the survey said.
Further analysis at the submarket level found the positive ADR impact is not limited to just the Downtown/Airport area — it extends across Greater Boston. The first half of 2012 has seen a 50 percent increase in group bookings over last year, the study said. For the second half of 2012 group bookings are trending 20 percent above where there were at the same time last year. This further confirms PKF’s forecasts for the second half of 2012, resulting in an annualized 7.1 percent increase in ADR and a 9.2 percent increase in room revenue (RevPAR).
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